Robust Control of a McKibben Artificial Muscle Actuator using a Sliding Mode Control with a Smith Predictor

B. Tondu, R. Lezama-Morales, and A. Khelassi (France)

Keywords

McKibben artificial muscle, robust control, gravity
compensation

Abstract

Artificial muscles are to be used in the future to actuate
anthropomorphic robot limbs. Their direct drive actuation
mode, as well as the present-day difficulty of modelling
them accurately, makes their control difficult. In this
paper it is proposed to test the feasibility of an original
control scheme combining a sliding mode with a Smith
predictor, so as to control a robot actuator made of two
antagonistic McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles.
This hybrid controller is intended to give a global
robustness to the robot joint, both in relation to inertial
variations and to gravity perturbations. Experimental
results of the method applied to the elbow joint of a 7R
anthropomorphic upper limb robot are also reported.